SonicWALL acquires MailFrontier

SonicWALL will now integrate its secure content management (SCM) and unified threat management (UTM) technologies into MailFrontier's existing offerings. The purchase will help the company improve its range of email security offerings for channel partners and their end users, SonicWALL said.

Palo Alto, Calif.,-based MailFrontier is a privately-held company providing email security and compliance solutions to the mid-enterprise market. Its products are designed to protect organizations against inbound and outbound email threats such as spam, viruses and phishing and provide policy enforcement and control to simplify achieving regulatory compliance and corporate governance.

MailFrontier currently has over 1,700 customers using its appliance- and software-based email security service offerings across a broad range of industries worldwide, including large distributed deployments such as OfficeMax and Wyndham International.

MailFrontier's solutions form a "natural fit" with SonicWALL's offerings, according to Matthew Medeiros, president and chief executive officer of SonicWALL.

"Secure content management is a high-growth segment offering excellent potential for SonicWALL and our partners worldwide. MailFrontier's IP portfolio provides a significant opportunity for future expansion of our capabilities in this area," said Medeiros. "Our channel partners and their customers are adamant that they need a powerful, simple solution that can be integrated into their broader secure network."

Anne Bonaparte, president and chief executive officer of MailFrontier, added: "Given the continued complexity and hybrid nature of threats attacking corporate networks, security is of critical importance. End users are increasingly concerned about protection of content on outbound email paths for regulatory compliance and corporate governance requirements. Our combined technology strengths and distribution breadth will enhance the comprehensive security solutions we are able to offer our customers."